Eastern Kingbird

With dark gray upperparts and a neat white tip to the tail, the Eastern Kingbird looks like it’s wearing a business suit. And this big-headed, broad-shouldered bird does mean business—just watch one harassing crows, Red-tailed Hawks, Great Blue Herons, and other birds that pass over its territory. Eastern Kingbirds often perch on wires in open areas and either sally out for flying insects or flutter slowly over the tops of grasses. They spend winters in South American forests, where they eat mainly fruit.

Typical Voice

Size & Shape

The Eastern Kingbird is a sturdy, medium-sized songbird with a large head, upright posture, square-tipped tail, and a relatively short, straight bill.

Color Pattern

Eastern Kingbirds are blackish above and white below. The head is a darker black than the wings and back, and the black tail has a conspicuous white tip.

Behavior

Eastern Kingbirds often perch in the open atop trees or along utility lines or fences. They fly with very shallow, rowing wingbeats and a raised head, usually accompanied by metallic, sputtering calls. Eastern Kingbirds are visual hunters, sallying out from perches to snatch flying insects.

Habitat

Eastern Kingbirds breed in open habitats such as yards, fields, pastures, grasslands, or wetlands, and are especially abundant in open places along forest edges or water. They spend winters in forests of South America.

Similar Species

Other North American flycatchers lack the Eastern Kingbird’s obvious white tail tip. Eastern Phoebes are noticeably smaller, with more slender proportions and grayer sides than Eastern Kingbirds. They tend to perch lower and habitually bob their tails. Likewise, Eastern Wood-Pewees are slimmer and show grayer underparts than Eastern Kingbirds; they also show two pale wingbars and a smaller, lighter bill. Western Kingbirds have a bright-yellow belly and pale gray head and back. Great Crested Flycatchers have gray chests, yellow bellies, and rufous in the wings and tail; you’re more likely to find them in forests than in a kingbird’s open habitat. The Gray Kingbird, found in Florida and extreme southeastern Georgia, has a larger, light-gray head and a massive bill.

Backyard Tips

Kingbirds may visit open yards with nearby trees, scattered vegetation, and lots of insects. Berry bushes may help attract them, particularly in late summer and fall.

Find This Bird

In overgrown fields near forest edges, scan for a large, dark-backed flycatcher atop a shrub, fencepost, or wire. Wait for it to sally out to catch an insect, and look for an all-white belly and white-tipped tail. On country drives you can also often spot them as they sit on fence wires; it also helps to learn their distinctive call note, which sounds like an electric spark or zap. You can see Eastern Kingbirds starting in March or April until they head south again in late July or August.